On Christmas Eve
by septasonicxx
Summary: Hogwarts setting, book 7. Neville is staying at Hogwarts over Christmas and encounters Pansy in the Library. Neville/Pansy


A/N: For me, it's not Christmas Eve any more, This is kinda sad because I was planning on uploading this on that day because of the title... but oh well XD I totally forgot. Maybe it's still Christmas Eve for others of you?

Anyway. This is a new pairing that I'm exploring and I tried to make it as Canon as possible. I like it =]

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Neville was sitting in the library at one of the tables, a book open in front of him. His face was marred with bruises and cuts although his expression was neutral, giving the impression that he had forgotten or didn't care. Whether he was nervous about being at Hogwarts or not did not seem to be stopping him from doing his work.

The door to the library gently opened and a girl walked in, her head held high and her face as perfect as it always was. Pansy was in Slytherin, meaning she could go wherever she wanted in the castle whenever she wanted without fearing punishment from the Carrows.

Her eyes drifted around the room lazily, one hand resting gently on her hip. She seemed to be looking for something, but her eyes stopped on Neville and she raised an eyebrow before walking over and sitting across from him, folding her arms on the table and watching him curiously. He ignored her.

"Doing homework, Longbottom?" she asked him when she realised he wasn't going to acknowledge her presence.

"Yes, for Herbology," he nodded, keeping his eyes on the book.

"Is that subject hard?" Pansy asked, leaning back in her seat slightly and frowning. She had only ever done Herbology in the years when it was compulsory and dropped it as soon as she had a choice.

"Not really, but for some people it is," Neville responded softly. He was wary of her questions, feeling that any minute she would say something which would be a trap and he wouldn't notice.

"Did you get attacked by a plant recently?" Pansy asked in a light voice, looking over his face. She noticed his eyes had stopped moving across the page and was glad she finally had a bit more of his attention now.

"No," he said quietly. "You were there when this happened."

"It didn't have to happen, you know." Pansy pointed out. "You could always just switch sides. I've heard them talking about what a help you would be to them."

Neville finally looked up at her, his eyes burning angrily. She flinched at the sudden intense gaze but didn't back down.

"I will _never_ join you," he hissed.

"Who ever said I was one of them?" Pansy asked, her eyes narrowing instantly. Neville's eyes widened and he looked down again, mumbling an apology. "I thought Gryffindors knew not to judge people."

"I just assumed... because you're always sucking up to them," Neville said softly.

"Well if I didn't they'd suspect something, don't you think?" Pansy asked cheekily with a smile. "I only do what I have to in order to keep under their radar."

Neville remained silent and tried to go back to reading his book, but this proved to be impossible instantly as Pansy stood from her seat and moved around, plopping herself down again in a chair right next to him.

"What do you want?" he asked suddenly and roughly, turning to look at her with narrowed eyes.

"Actually," Pansy admitted. "I'm curious as to why you're still here. You do realise Christmas is tomorrow, right?"

"So?"

"So... why didn't you go home to your Grandmother?" Pansy asked, sincere curiosity shining in her eyes as she stared at him. "You can't honestly tell me that the idea of staying sounded more fun than going home."

"You mean you didn't hear, then?" Neville asked with a slight sneer as he finally shut his book. "I thought all of you Slytherins would have been talking about it for weeks."

"Talking about what, exactly?" Pansy pressed on, no amusement in her eyes that would have told Neville she did actually know and was simply playing dumb. In fact, Neville was sure he could now see slight confusion in her eyes as she watched him.

Looking down at his now closed book, Neville spoke. "I can't go and stay with my Grandmother because she's on the run. Dawlish tried to capture and hold her hostage, but he didn't count on my Grandmother being... well, just being my Grandmother. So it means I can't go home, but I don't care. Even if I have to stay in a castle with those creatures longer than everyone else, nothing is going to stop me from fighting against them."

"And none of your friends invited you to stay with them over the Christmas break?" Pansy asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I didn't want to burden any of them," Neville murmured then. "They've all got their own problems to worry about anyway."

Pansy fell silent for a moment and they sat beside each other without speaking. The minutes ticked by and then Pansy sighed, leaning back in her chair and staring across the table at a random bookshelf.

"You're always so selfless," she said without looking at him. "I don't get it."

Neville was incredibly tempted to say, 'You wouldn't', but decided against it. He didn't want to risk making her mad as he wasn't quite sure just what she might do to him. Instead, he kept silent, wondering whether she was going to continue or not.

"You always think about others and you're so frustratingly loyal to Potter," Pansy went on. "I suppose I- I admire you. A little."

"You admire _me_?" Neville asked quietly, turning to fix his eyes on her in astonishment. She continued staring straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze this time.

"I don't know whether you'd call it admiration. I just sometimes find myself wishing I was a bit more like you," Pansy shrugged.

"You can change, you know," Neville said softly and supportively.

"I'm not a mean person!" Pansy firmly insisted, finally turning to look at him again. "I'm not! I'm a little bit afraid, sometimes... okay, a lot afraid. But that's doesn't make me mean! I'm just looking out for myself, you know? Ensuring I don't get hurt. You understand, don't you?"

The pleading look in Pansy's eyes made Neville hesitate as he watched her. He was surprised to find that he was actually beginning to understand the girl a lot more as she spoke of protecting herself out of fear. It was understandable. But...

"Pansy, I don't mean to offend you," Neville began cautiously. "But why exactly do you want me to understand? I just mean... well, you've never really paid much attention to me before except to tease me. So why are you trying to make me understand now?"

Pansy stared at him silently for a long moment.

"It's Christmas Eve," she murmured.

"I know."

"I don't have anyone to celebrate with," Pansy said quietly.

"Right."

"Neither do you," she whispered the words, suddenly leaning towards him and gripping the edge of the table with one hand.

"What are you doing?" Neville asked quickly, panicking slightly and fighting the urge to lean away from her.

"I just want someone like you," Pansy whispered. "To understand someone like me. Even if it's only for one day."

Neville could see the urgency in her eyes and was now able to understand the reasons behind her desperation. He understood her, or so he thought. Perhaps tomorrow he would be back to wondering why she was such a mean, cruel individual, but right now he could see a different side. A side that usually hid itself in fear but was now throwing itself at him with reckless abandon. He didn't know why or how it had happened, but he liked seeing that side of her. So he didn't move away or turn aside his head as she continued to lean forward. Instead he began to close his eyes, nervously.

And then she kissed him.

On Christmas Eve.


End file.
